


Intermission

by freduppet



Category: Persona 2
Genre: Hopeful Ending, M/M, Pining, fuck you atlus, tatsujun is the tru otp but eikichi should have been romanceable TOO
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 08:43:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15215366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freduppet/pseuds/freduppet
Summary: Alright, maybe he has a crush. But it's no big deal. He’s had crushes before. He can just brush this one off like all the others he’s had, with the knowledge they’d have never turned out well anyway…But wait. He’d confessed to all those other crushes before. Eikichi Mishina has never been the type to be skilled at hiding his emotions. He's never even bottled up his feelings towards another for as long as he has now---and it’s only been a month and a half! Yet...there was this utterly cool, unapproachable aura about Tatsuya, the same that made him so popular in the first place despite having next to no friends. The same that made Eikichi first want to learn more about him.The same that made him fall for...





	Intermission

**Author's Note:**

> well this is something a little different.......

It's a sunny day in Rengedai.

Eikichi looks over at Tatsuya. The two are leaning against a wall behind Seven Sisters High, waiting for Lisa to come out of the school so they can resume their search for Joker. There's a half-expected, half-awkward silence strung between the two of them, and Eikichi opens his mouth to break it, but nothing of interest to say jumps to the front of his mind for once. He resumes his staring at the clouds, focusing on keeping up his image with a bitchin’ pose. You never know what kind of lovely lady may walk by!

"From the very beginning, I had thought he might be Jun."

Eikichi startles, then turns to look at Tatsuya. He lets out a nervous chuckle. Sometimes, he forgets the guy can actually talk. "Why do you say that...?" He tries to think of a nickname to call Tatsuya, but he can't think of one, and gives up. Tatsuya flicks that damn lighter again, and pulls a yellow iris from his pocket. It's crumpled and wilted at this point. He looks intently at it, as if it's going to tell him something important.

Tatsuya then stares at Eikichi. The Cuss High student feels as if his soul is being penetrated by the burning intensity of his friend’s honey brown gaze. He almost holds his breath, as Tatsuya begins to speak again. "The transfer student at Kasugayama you told us about the other day. The one who hasn't been showing up to school anymore. It's Jun, isn't it?"

Eikichi nods slowly. "How did you know?," he nearly whispers, grinning morosely. Tatsuya averts his sight back down to the iris, looking almost dejected at this point. "I had noted that Joker wore what looked to be a school uniform...then when you told us about the transfer student, I knew that had to be it. Not to mention, all the flowers..." He sighs, then glances back up at Eikichi, almost as if he's expecting him to say something else. Eikichi clears his throat awkwardly, and runs a hand through his hair. It's been over a month, and he still can't figure out what this guy's deal is.

"Maya-san was right...you two really are one in the same. I'd have never figured that one out. I swear, there's some freaky connection between you! Haha..." Eikichi trails off, a strange and unwelcome train of thought once again plaguing his mind. This isn't the first time he's gotten lost in his head while with Tatsuya, but he sure hopes it's the last, because he obviously has no chance, right?

As much as he hates to admit it, he's always been jealous of the connection between Tatsuya and Jun. And, if he's being completely honest with himself, he wishes that Tatsuya was pursuing him with as much determination as he is Jun. But that’s just weird, isn't it! Nothing compares to the bond between those two, and it seems that in Tatsuya's mind, _nobody_ compares to Jun. Still, like a fool, Eikichi finds himself selfishly, undesirably wishing he could spend more time with Tatsuya alone. He trips over the word when he calls Tatsuya “baby” while they contact demons together, his heartbeat gets a little faster when they brush shoulders, his face grows a little warmer every time he hears that smooth, deep voice and alright, _maybe_ he has a crush. But it's no big deal. He’s had crushes before. He can just brush this one off like all the others he’s had, with the knowledge they’d have never turned out well anyway…

But wait. He’d confessed to all those other crushes before. Eikichi Mishina has never been the type to be skilled at hiding his emotions. He's never even bottled up his feelings towards another for as long as he has now---and it’s only been a month and a half! Yet...there was this utterly cool, unapproachable aura about Tatsuya, the same that made him so popular in the first place despite having next to no friends. The same that made Eikichi first want to learn more about him. 

The same that made him fall for…

Eikichi shakes his head, as if that will rid him of his buzzing emotions. Tatsuya takes note, and looks back over at Eikichi. Oh shit, did Tatsuya say something just now?

Whether or not he did, Eikichi will never know, because all Tatsuya says next is, “Are you ok?” with a mildly confused look on his face.

Thank god he's wearing that infernal white foundation. “I-I’m fine, baby!” Fuck. “Don't worry about Michel right now. We’ve got more important things to think about at the moment, don't we?”

And then, the impossible happens. Tatsuya smiles. Eikichi doesn't remember if he's ever seen anything but tight lips on that guy’s face, but now...all he can think is about how he wants to see that smile again and again. It's unbearable. Eikichi isn't sure how much longer he can take hiding his feelings. But it would be so awkward confessing now, while they're still in the middle of all this shit! Dammit! He wishes he could just flip a switch, and get rid of this stupid crush forever. He doesn't even know if Tatsuya would be into other guys!

“I still worry about you. You’re my friend, too.” Tatsuya shifts a little, and puts the iris back in his pocket. He’s inching closer. Oh no. If there was ever a bad time for him to be hyper-aware of his crush on Tatsuya, it was right now. “Once...this is all over. It would be nice to get to spend more time with you. After all, it's been years…” Tatsuya is staring at the ground, hands in his pockets. Damn, he’s so cool, even when he's not trying in the slightest. Eikichi then realizes he probably doesn't try at all. He wishes he could be like that. He lets a warm smile bloom across his face to match Tatsuya’s. “I’d like that, Ta-chan!” 

Tatsuya looks up from the ground, and meets Eikichi’s eyes. He’s still got that smile, albeit now it seems...oddly shy. His gaze is somehow almost intimate, and Eikichi feels as if he could stare into those eyes for the rest of his life and die happy. Wait, what? 

The moment is cut off abruptly. “Shuai luo...that took forever! Sorry to keep you all waiting!” Tatsuya and Eikichi nearly jump out of their skin as Lisa comes around the corner. “Ching yan! Undie Boss! Were you all talking about something over here?” Lisa’s obnoxious nickname for him snaps Eikichi directly out of his daydream-clouded trance. “So? What if we were? It's none of your business, Ginko!,” he snaps back. Lisa’s about to make a quip at him, before sighing in defeat. “Aiyah...I’m too tired for this right now. Let's just go find Big Sis and Yukino-san and head out again…I want to get this over with so I can go home and take a nap!” She yawns and stretches dramatically for emphasis. Tatsuya nods, and just like that, the only evidence left over of his conversation with Tatsuya is what’s left in his mind. 

Was that...a sliver of a chance that he saw earlier? Could Ta-chan really...No, of course not. He’s probably just remembering it wrong. Did they really look at each other for that long? He’d never forget that smile, though. It was like he saw a side of Tatsuya that rarely saw the light of day…how could anyone forget seeing something as rare as that?

Eikichi had trouble sleeping that night.


End file.
